Studies are designed to delineate the relationships between the number of mast cells and basophils, the number of binding sites or the binding efficiency of these cells for immunoglobulin E (IgE) in helminthiasis and in allergy. The role that each of these factors plays in producing disease or in providing protection in helminthic infestations is an important objective of this research. Newborn infants requiring exchange transfusions have provided preliminary data on the distribution and equilibrium kinetics of IgE in the serum and cell-bound in the skin. A quantitative study of mast cells in the mucous membranes of allergic and normal adult subjects and their correlation with serum IgE levels and eosinophil counts provides additional data relevant to this project. BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES: Barrett-Connor, E., Davis, C.E., Hamburger, R.N., Kagan, I.G.: An epidemic of trichinosis following ingestion of wild pig in Hawaii. J. Infect. Dis. 133:473, 1976. Prenner, B., Mellon, M., Street, D., Hamburger, R.N.: The effect of oral albuterol on plasma cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP). J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. 57: 260, 1976 (abstr).